By Tom Eriksen Growing up I found myself struggling for both acceptance and guidance. Not finding guidance, I took acceptance from the first group I found. I found myself going the wrong direction and not even realizing it. A few years later, I found…
By Ramsey Vens One thing continues to come to my mind for this Advent season is a reminder to take time to seek joy, hope, love, and peace during this wonderful time of the year. I believe it’s important that people slow down their lives for a bit an…
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By David Stern This October our family got to experience the amazing wonders of God’s love through the birth of twin grandchildren. Both my wife Annie and I experienced months of hopeful, but nervous anticipation. This led us to ask God to watch over…
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By Pat Sierk “And wonders of His love,” the final refrain of “Joy to the World,” reminds me of the children’s book “Wonder.” This best-selling 2012 novel by R.J. Palacio introduces an unforgettable character, ten-year-old Auggie, an ordinary boy who…
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By Kristin Burns Growing up on a farm in Northwest Illinois, I always found myself embracing the simplistic beauty and abundance around me. Every season on the farm was beautiful in its own special way – the rolling fields of green in the summer to t…
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By Jennifer Bailey We learn, when we are small, that other people at the holiday table don’t see what we do. We learn that a flower bouquet blocks Auntie from seeing the salt. At some point we realize that our brain takes signals and renders what it…
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By Christine Lassers I am a proud mother of three wonderful children who at this time have a long list of things they want for Christmas. Our tree was up weeks before Thanksgiving – partly to give our youngest son, Teddy, a chance to “warm up” to it …
By Lee Marbach Life is fast and has the tendency to accelerate as we move through the years. Endless task lists, responsibilities and connections to maintain. Reflection is something that we struggle making time for, so I challenge you today to look…
By Scott Teasdale Walking. I see so many walking to get somewhere else. It is not for the journey, the faces are many yet indistinguishable, it is rather an act of moving to a place somewhere else. If all walking were, in fact, talking of Michelangel…
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By Kerri Rehn On a sunny day in June when I was 17 years old, I was home alone, singing and playing the piano (very loudly, no doubt). I had mastered several of the songs in my Disney songbook, and that day’s mission was to conquer Someone’s Waiting…
Seven years ago, when the Stewarts first moved to the Quad Cities, they sat down together as a family of four for Thanksgiving. It was a nice holiday. But Eric, Rikka, Aron, and Jordan decided they wouldn’t do that again. Every year that they don’t t…
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By Dylan Engelbrecht It is September 22. My birthday was yesterday and it was a great day. Today I will work on my Christmas list. I must get it sorted and prioritized based on what I received yesterday. I will then distribute it soon to the many fam…